Karen Sawicz is owed tremendous thanks by all current residents of not only Orleans County but the easily connected people who routinely access the Orleans Hub from afar!
I remember conversations with her going back about 15 years ago, following the death of her parents. I would stop in to the Lake Country Pennysaver offices to pay an advertising bill to her delightful front office crew and Karen would occasionally pop out of her office for a chat.
Even then, Karen’s personal life had changed from residing in Orleans County and she did have a potential buyer for The Lake Country Pennysaver, but she also had concerns. She loved this county and she had pursued options to not only continue The Pennysaver but to also bring Orleans County into the virtual world of what she ultimately developed to become the Orleans Hub.
We have all benefited from her concerns, her diligence and countless decisions to not sell at that time. Instead, she focused on the development of a Virtual Hub and secured spectacular staff we all know so well and by the wonderful “Letter to the Editor” opportunities for any of us.
This Orleans Hub goes all over the world instantly by a push of keyboard strokes by any of us and has enabled such healthy discourse and promotions unlike ANY of our neighboring counties!
Thanks Karen, we owe you so much … from one Karen to another!
Some of my fondest memories are from the six years I spent attending Towne Primary School.
Singing outside on the steps in the back courtyard, the awesome playground that for many years I enjoyed taking my granddaughters to!
Would it not be an impressive home for our senior residents? I can see the playground being adored our seniors and their families, children coming to the courtyard or the library for a story hour! How about a cooking class?
Our young people may enjoy the time spent with a senior. I believe there may be young people, even us older adults would enjoy learning cooking skills (a pinch of this and a dash of that) including myself!
I believe the possibilities are endless. I would love to see the building come alive. Medina has witnessed the recent beautifications of the Bent’s Opera House and the Walsh House!
I know in my heart Towne School on Bates Road could be a perfect home for our seniors.
Congresswoman Tenney has introduced in Congress the Red Light Act that seeks to withhold federal transportation funding from states that enact laws to provide driver’s licenses or ID cards to illegal immigrants.
Tenney goes on to say, “In New York, the Green Light Law has given licenses to illegal immigrants. allowing these dangerous individuals to roam freely in our country, brutally attacking, raping and murdering members of our community.”
What an astonishing, illogical thing to put into print, let alone introduce in Congress. Is this yet another example of Tenney’s efforts to pander to Trump, to make sure she walks in lock step to his racist rantings on immigrants?
Using Tenny’s twisted logic perhaps she would also ban buses, trains and planes. And since criminals also walk, how about banning shoes and socks?
When members of Congress are in session, they usually employ cooks and maids in their Washington homes. A large number of these people are immigrants. Perhaps Tenney employs immigrants in her Washington DC house hold staff, and if so, I wonder if are they legally in the US?
A clarification from Tenney in the Hub would be useful.
Jack Capurso
Ashburn, Va.
Mr. Capurso graduated from Albion High School in 1960.
In a recent letter, longtime opponent of wind energy, Kerri Richardson, claimed that residents may not see many benefits from the Heritage Wind project to the Town of Barre, Orleans County, and our local schools.
Ms. Richardson threw out a lot of numbers but ignores some basic facts about the project.
First, the revenue from Heritage Wind is new money for our town that we didn’t have to begin with. The benefits to our town, and schools from the PILOT and Host Community Agreement revenue are significant! And the amount could have been greater if not for the constant opposition and antics of the anti-wind factions, including Ms. Richardson’s group, which resulted in a smaller project with fewer turbines than originally proposed and permitted.
The funds coming to Barre from the wind project certainly could be used to lower town taxes, as the majority on the current board have expressed that they want to do. Other wind projects across the state have done just that.
Could the money from the project be used for other town priorities? Of course! It’s no secret that the funds could be used for other projects and that it’s up to the board. And with the additional funds, other priorities could be addressed as well. The question is whether most of the funds will be used to help the residents, and that will depend on who is on the board now and in the future.
Ms. Richardson also mentioned that job creation in this area from the project will be a low number and so not worthwhile. But she forgot to include the several hundred workers who will be working to build the project, including spending with local businesses to provide supplies and services during construction.
While construction workers will certainly come from throughout the region, and not all will be local to Orleans County, any visiting workers will be spending money locally for their daily needs, such as housing, food service, fuel and supplies. During operations, the number of full-time employees will decrease but the project will still produce full-time good paying jobs for the community.
Ms. Richardson and I do agree that when we vote this coming November, we should keep in mind who we want to represent our town. But we disagree on the kind of representation. Do we want those who are stuck in the past fighting against a project that is already approved, as Ms. Richardson would advocate for? Or do we want a group that will embrace the opportunity before us and make sure the financial benefits from Heritage Wind will be used in the best interests of the town and its residents? I’d rather see a group using the money to make life better for residents rather than fighting legal battles.
And I disagree with Ms. Richardson that most of the residents are against this project. I don’t think that’s been proven at all. I would say that most people here are probably tired of hearing about it and want the fighting to stop.
The wind project is coming! It will soon be built and will be generating clean power! And the new funds coming to the town, Orleans County, and local schools will provide a huge boost to this area that will prove beneficial to all.
I was very glad to read about the change in ownership at the Pennysaver and Hub, as it appears that there will be little outward change. Don’t mess with success.
Tom Rivers is the heart and soul of Orleans Hub. When I see Tom appear at a community event with his smiling face and his camera, I know that the world will hear about something that makes us proud of our home, or something that needs to be fixed.
Tom gets the names and the details right, and can be counted on to report the situation as it stands, without bias or spin. Those of us who log in several times a day, or watch the announcements on Facebook, appreciate the oasis that is Orleans Hub in the sandstorm desert of society today.
I grew up reading the Lyndonville Enterprise, a newspaper that appeared almost by magic from a mysterious little building that is now a parking lot behind the laundromat; I will never forget the web-fed printing press that took up two stories of that building, and the mostly hand-set type.
When I was a teenager I worked in the job shop at the Medina Journal-Register, which at the time was still set in hot lead from linotype. Both papers reported on school sports, who made the honors list at high school, who was visiting from out of town, farm news, and local businesses. We used to joke that they would go to the library to see if someone had borrowed the book, and that the phone directory had a Yellow Page. Life in a small town was important, even if it wasn’t Albion or Washington DC.
We can still get some of that in Tom and Ginny Kropf’s splendid work that appears on Orleans Hub. I admire the fact that it is a free site, although I would subscribe in a heartbeat.
When I do business with a Hub advertiser, I am careful to let them know I saw their ad. With the societal changes driving conventional newspapers out of business, the Orleans Hub is more than worth preserving; it is crucial. I am very glad to learn that the ownership structure will allow it to continue and grow.
We wholeheartedly agree with deporting felon and violent immigrants.
But, we have always needed immigrant workers from the canals, to the railroads, to mining, to farming, canning factories, service industries and even medical care. So please don’t deport immigrant farm workers. Our local rural economy and farm industry has depended upon and does depend upon immigrants, including “undocumented” (no green card) for 40 years.
Massive deportation will be very expensive. Let’s reduce our national debt and/or invest in our infrastructure. Give Americans good jobs.
Justice: Since the 1986 obviously impractical law (made it illegal to hire undocumented workers), which we rarely enforced until about 2005, we allowed about 5.5 million mainly Mexicans and another 6 million immigrants to outstay their Visas and work for our society, especially in the food industry.
They came in families or to families often, have also developed families and had millions of children, who are American citizens. Many, through no fault of their own, have not even been able to get a green card. We know one highly successful Mexican, who has spent $35,000 in legal fees, trying unsuccessfully to get a green card. He’s hiding from no one, known to the immigration courts and establishing three businesses. One won the Chamber of Commerce Business of the Year award.
To deport them now, 2/3rds of whom have been here over 10 years, many as long as 30, most of whom are hard, reliable and valued workers, would be not only impractical but unjust to them and farmers.
Congress has had three bi-partisan bills, that would have helped correct the 1986 law, but failed to pass. Former GOP House Speaker John Boehner (2013?) called some of his fellow Republicans “blockheads” and resigned in frustration. It failed to pass the House, although passing the Senate with approximately 2/3rds majority. That’s what we need to do. Pass one of those 3 proposals or something similar.
Life: To deprive children of a parent(s) and bread-winner is cruel and anti-life. To expel whole families, including American citizens, to unknown and most likely difficult situations in their native lands, is likely life-threatening and certainly unjust. If we care about children in our society, then we have to care about the millions of children of immigrants, including their nutrition, health care and education, all life issues.
President Joe Biden often talks about building the economy from the “middle-out.” I thought that was just an advertising slogan, but it is actually a branch of macroeconomic theory.
Middle-out economics is rooted in economic science that economies are complex, adaptive and ecosystemic, that is there is a feedback loop found in ecosystems. It is centered around consumer spending as a key ingredient in job and economic growth. It maintains that a thriving middle-class is essential to economic growth and not the consequence of it.
This theory is in opposition to Reaganomics, or trickle-down (also called supply-side), economics. There are multiple academic peer-reviewed studies supporting middle-out economics as opposed to trickle-down economics. There are also real-world experiences that demonstrate the failure of trickle-down economics and the positive effects of middle-out economics. The most prominent real-world experiment demonstrating the failure of trickle-down economics was the Kansas experiment.
In 2012, Governor Sam Brownback of Kansas signed legislation, supported by Arthur Laffer, a key architect of President Reagan tax policy, cutting the state taxes which he described as “a real live experiment,” in supply-side economics, and it would be a “shot of adrenaline into the heart of the Kansas economy.”
However, the tax cuts did not produce job growth. Private sector job growth was lower than its neighboring states. Moody’s Investors Service and Standard and Poor’s Rating downgraded the state’s credit rating, making borrowing more expensive. Education took the biggest hit with increased class size, eliminating art programs, laid-off janitors and librarians, and rising fees for kindergarten.
The Kansas Department of Transportation announced they were “indefinitely delaying” road projects while roads deteriorated because the state took funds from the highway department to balance the state general budget. The Kansas experiment was deemed a failure.
Despite the economic failure of supply-side economics Republicans remain committed to it. For example, in Mr. Trump’s first term in office the Republican’s signature legislation was the Tax Cut and Jobs Act (TCJA). Which was supposed to stimulate the economy, create job growth and increase federal revenues.
According to the non-partisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB), the tax cuts were largely responsible for increasing the national debt by $8.4 trillion. (In contrast, Mr. Biden’s legislation including the American Rescue Plan, Infrastructure legislation, the Chips and Science Act, the Pact Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act added only $4.3 trillion).
While the economy remained resilient during most of Mr. Trump’s first administration the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that America lost nearly 200,000 manufacturing jobs under Mr. Trump’s administration before the Covid-19 pandemic. Under Mr. Biden’s administration more than 700,000 new manufacturing jobs have been created.
Job creation does not occur when there are abundant profits but when there is abundance of customer demand. Thanks to President Biden, his economic agenda created a strong economy as evidenced by strong consumer spending this past holiday season.
There appears to be an intriguing and frightfully dangerous development evolving within The Former President’s post election enthroning of his primary confidants. I speak of course of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is a Kennedy in name only and Elon Musk who apparently loves to name everything he has as “X”; how ingenious!
RFK Jr. is to be the Secretary of Health and Human Services, an absolutely critical Cabinet position for which he has absolutely no educational or medical/health-related experiences – none!
During and since the Covid pandemic he spoke loudly and often against the vaccine, regardless of the fact that according to the CDC of the nearly one million Americans who died of Covid-19 one half could have been saved had they been vaccinated.
But by following the “wisdom” of RFK Jr. and The Former President their chance of survival was in fact greatly diminished. Further, the National Center for Biotechnology Information has documented that worldwide the Covid-19 vaccine prevented an estimated 14.4 million additional deaths.
How is this man the least bit qualified to be the Secretary of Health and Human Services?
To the best of my knowledge neither of these men have ever held an elected governmental position at any level; which is to say that they are not certainly “of the people or by the people”! They do not represent a cause or promote an agenda which is in the best interest of our nation yet they dance around The Former President as if he is the second coming of … well, you know – himself!
It is all too obvious that these positions are being used solely to reward their financial support of The Former President and the Republican Party.
At a time when The Former President and his minions in the Republican Party are touting less government, a new Cabinet level position, the Department of Government Efficiency, has been generated so that Elon Musk may be elevated to save us from our own demise.
Obviously in the case of Elon Musk he knows all too well what $227 million can buy you in Washington DC these days; a seat “in the room where it happens”! Only the Republican Party would believe that the best way to reduce the size of the Federal Government is by adding to it. It appears that some Republicans may have missed a few math classes along the way.
Historically speaking, some might be inclined to think of The Former President, RFK Jr. and Mr. Musk as the First Great American Triumvirate modeled after Caesar’s First Roman Triumvirate (60 B.C.E. – 56 B.C.E.) They being guided by the belief that they will expand the glory and power of the American Empire in a worldwide crusade of their own bravado and conceit, meanwhile at the expense of any semblance whatsoever of our proud democratic heritage and ideals. They may want to be reminded how this all worked out for Caesar!
In his “The Praise of Folly” in 1509 the renowned Dutch philosopher and humanist Erasmus wrote what appears to be perfectly appropriate for today; “The less talent they have, the more pride, vanity and arrogance they have. All these fools, however, find other fools who applaud them.” How could Erasmus have known that over 500 years into the future Americans would be proving him to be amazingly prophetic.
I am sick of Santa!! Even while living in the village of the original Santa Claus School, I am SICK of Santa Claus!!
I mean no ill will toward the ole guy, and yes, of course, I believe in him. However, I believe even the founder of the Santa School, Charles W. Howard, would be appalled at the way the idea of Santa has overshadowed the Birth of Jesus Christ as the true meaning of Christmas in today’s world!!
Netflix, Max, AMC, Amazon Prime, and all of the others, including Pure Flix to some degree, and many other industries have all focused chiefly on Santa rather than the Christ Child for which the holiday was named “Christ”mas!!
They fail in redirecting the over merchandising of the holiday from selfish hedonism to some spiritual feeling of goodness and “good will toward men” because they exclude the true meaning!! No amount of “Santa Claus-ing” or Christmas Caroling, or gift purchasing or gift giving will ever suffice as a foundation for Christmas cheer and goodness.
Only through establishing the true reason for the season will we regain acquisition of its inherent Joy and fundamental truth and goodness, Godliness, Righteousness and Hope! So, I suppose I should clarify. I am not sick of Santa personally; I am sick of the way people, communities, and industries have placed him above the true meaning of Christmas… (Sorry Santa… …coal?? Krampus?? Yikes!!! No! What I mean is…) The true meaning of Christmas!
The miraculous and immaculate birth of the Christ Child! God! Incarnate! Come to Earth as a Baby to experience humanity first hand, to show humanity how to live, how to have a true relationship with God, to impart the hope of Heaven, then to pay the price of sin for all who believe, and then to rise after conquering death to demonstrate the Power of God and the truth of His Word.
As if all of this was not enough, He gives the gift of His Holy Spirit dwelling in all those who believe, His purchased possession, so that we may truly live in and project the Image of God who created us! (It’s in His book, just look!!)
This is God’s gift to us! The best gift Santa could ever give is to point to Jesus and rejoice in His birth, the gift of Heaven.
The Medina Police Benevolent Union Association is deeply disappointed by recent comments made by village leadership regarding officer retention and recruitment in a promotional announcement. These statements, which were delivered during what should have been a moment of celebration for two of our officers receiving well-deserved promotions.
Promotions are a time to recognize the dedication, hard work, and sacrifices that our officers make to serve this community. Instead, that moment was overshadowed by remarks suggesting that officers “complain” about wages and should simply be “thankful” to work in a community with a low crime rate.
Suggesting that officers should be “willing to forego higher salaries for an opportunity to work in a village that is relatively crime free” could only be made by someone who is uninformed of what it is that our officers actually do.
The excuse that the struggles with retention cannot be solved for reason of “the younger people want their money now” is false. The decision of younger officers to leave our department is not a reflection of entitlement, but rather of the economic realities and personal considerations that weigh heavily on all working professionals.
Such comments are dismissive of the real challenges we face and fail to acknowledge the professionalism and commitment our officers demonstrate daily. Retaining skilled and committed officers is essential to maintaining the safety and well-being of Medina residents.
In the past decade, our department has lost over 50% of its staffing to departments both within and outside of Orleans County, including the Orleans County Sheriff’s Department, Warsaw Police Department, Mount Morris Police Department, Batavia Police Department, Lockport City Police Department and Ogden Police Department.
With the loss of these officers which consisted of a 16-year experienced sergeant and other officers with five-plus years of experience comes the loss of a collective 50 years of law enforcement experience and training. These losses represent more than just numbers; they signify a critical depletion of law enforcement knowledge, expertise, and relationships built within the community. This exodus of officers is a direct result of the failure to provide competitive salaries and benefits, which are essential to retaining a skilled and committed police force.
While Medina enjoys a relatively low crime rate, the work of policing here is far from easy. Our officers regularly handle complex, high-stakes, violent situations, including assaults, mental health crises, drug-related investigations, domestic violence calls and traffic-related emergencies. These are often unseen by the public but are a testament to the skill and dedication required to keep our community safe.
Compounding the retention and recruitment issue is the fact that surrounding police departments with comparable or lower crime rates offer significantly higher compensation and better benefits. This disparity makes it increasingly difficult to attract and retain qualified officers who are seeking fair pay for their efforts.
It is also critical to note that the Medina Police Department officers have been and are currently operating without a contract since May 2023. Despite our repeated efforts to negotiate in good faith, we are now facing arbitration in January of 2025 because we cannot reach an agreement on compensation. This prolonged impasse not only affects our officers’ livelihoods but also sends a troubling message about the village’s commitment to fairly compensating those looking to potentially be hired here and those who dedicate their lives to protecting this community already.
The Medina Police Benevolent Union Association calls on village leaders to respect the contributions of our officers and to work collaboratively toward solutions that address the ongoing retention and recruitment crisis. Recognizing the value of our officers and ensuring competitive compensation are not only matters of fairness but also essential to maintaining the safety and security of our community.
We remain committed to serving the residents of Medina with integrity and professionalism, but we will not allow the hard work and sacrifices of our officers to be overshadowed by devaluing rhetoric. It is time for leadership to meet this issue with respect and action. We hope the community we serve will support us in this thought as well.
This statement reflects the views of the members of The Medina Police Benevolent Union Association and does not represent the ideas, opinions, or positions of the Medina Police Department’s Administration staff.
Thank you for your time.
Respectfully,
Medina Police Benevolent Union Association Leadership
Rethinking matters can be useful if it’s not a play for power and, additionally, sound analysis and “reason” are applied to avoid major collateral damage. Access to facts and ability to think and speak freely are a sine qua non of good problem solving. I do not think anyone can argue with that.
What we mean by “reason” though can be tricky. “Reason” can be a tool to solve and improve things. But the literature is clear that “reason” is also fact a Swiss Army knife that facilitates survival.
“Reason” which solves problems works the strands of a theme or a compelling question using rigor, fact, logic and reflection. Inherent is study and inquisitiveness.
But ”reason” also enables us to gainfully exist in whatever new or hostile environment we find ourselves. What a person once thought false they can come to believe is true. A hostile environment can change people; innate “reason” can tell us it’s better to adapt and join rather than perish.
Consequently, sadly, if something “bad” is wide spread, it will surely get worse before it gets better. It will increasingly become the (or a) norm with which people have to find a way to coexist. An easy example occurred when Pres. Clinton nudged the tax rate up (barely) to put the budget in surplus. This defied the spreading supply side norm and as a result over 30 brave Congressmen lost their seats. What was once called “ Voodoo economics” is a norm still with us.
The type of “reason” which solves problems was protected by our Founders in the First Amendment – free speech and protection of the press. Without both the Founders (and citizenry which insisted on that Amendment) knew our ability to identify, confront and solve problems would erode. Without exchange of facts and ideas to sort though, guide and sustain us they knew we would increasingly confront a vortex of personal and collective identity disintegration. What we had under the King.
This same vortex of disintegration many think is well underway again. We will have to wait and see if the keystone of reason – free speech and press – is actually under brutal, subversive, attack of if the threat is just a tactical maneuver. As long as we have it all can contribute.
In this world, right now, my Christmas wish for all is that no one brook thoughts that anything can obscure or eclipse their identity or the truest elements of “life” and “humanity.” Elements which for me (and I hope for you) include wonder, kindness, curiosity, empathy, generosity, courage, creativity, learning, and the ability to use “reason” as a tool based on fact, not rhetoric.
For those in doubt remember this is a temporal world subject to inertia and this is a big and great country. Remember there are hundreds of millions, around the world billions, who think similarly. My sense is that many of us will be defined by daily small-scale expressions of personal integrity and that too is a keystone!
In the New Year we shall see which form of “reason” shows up and if the coming change can be figured out by all involved without hurting many people in many ways. Till then my best wish to all is simply enjoy the holidays.
On. Dec. 11, Mr. Hartway wrote that Orleans citizens should push back on Albany mandates that strain local wallets. He is correct in saying taxes are high and a severe strain on families. But is his solution, that of initiating a confrontation with Albany, the best way forward?
I suggest not banging heads with the state government, but look locally to save money. Consolidate the 10 towns in Orleans County into the county government.
Why are Orleans taxpayers paying for 10 courts, 10 tax districts, 10 code enforcers, 10 highway departments, multiple sewer districts, 10 groups of supervisors, 10 fire departments, 10 office complexes when other counties in the state have consolidated into one government and saved their citizens millions?
In a small way consolidation has already begun: Albion and Gaines have created a joint fire district.
The County Legislature should move to consolidate all ten towns now, not later.
Jack Capurso, member of Albion High School Class of 1960
In his editorial, “Counties should push back on state mandates that strain taxpayers’ wallets,” Charles Hartway states that the county government should “disavow” mandated programs as an act of civil disobedience.
A mandate is defined as a requirement by New York State that a local government has to carry out. Some examples, Medicaid, Public Assistance/Safety Net, Child Welfare protect/prevention, Pre-School Special Education, Indigent Defense, Probation, Early Intervention, Youth Detention and Pensions.
In looking over the list, the vast majority are received by residents of the county. To the best of my knowledge, county lawmakers do not want to eliminate these programs, they just want the State of New York to fully fund them.
That sounds like a great plan, except that it merely shifts the tax burden to the working class and disincentives fiscal responsibility at the local level.
When county officials purport they have “discretion of less than 10% of the annual budget,” it implies they have no say as to how funds are appropriated. They do have a great deal of discretion, including managing contracts and the hiring of employees. The recent county property acquisitions underscores that point.
The county’s beef regarding these mandated programs has never been about the actual programs, they simply want more money from the state.
Unfortunately increased state funding often creates a perverse incentive for counties to inflate program costs or sustain inefficient systems. Knowing the state will cover the costs, counties may lack the urgency to streamline services, eliminate redundancy, or seek innovative solutions. The state’s broader scope also makes it harder to monitor every funded program effectively, creating fertile ground for waste and mismanagement.
Counties differ significantly in demographics, geography, and needs. What works in urban Erie County may be ineffective or excessive in rural Orleans County. When programs rely solely on state funding, they’re often designed with stricter statewide mandates or stipulations, undermining the flexibility counties need to tailor services to their communities.
Local governments are empowered to address the needs of their constituents through property taxes or sales taxes. If counties rely on the state for funding, it reduces their incentive to optimize local revenue generation. This creates long-term dependence, disempowers local governance, and leaves communities vulnerable if state funding is reduced.
When programs fail or fall short of expectations, it becomes easier for counties and the state to point fingers rather than address systemic issues. This lack of clear responsibility fosters political gridlock, with both levels of government spending more time deflecting blame than improving services.
Rather than advocating for the state to provide open-ended funding, they should work with the state to shift its focus to supporting counties through grants tied to performance metrics and providing technical assistance to help counties administer their own programs. This encourages efficiency, innovation, and accountability at the local level while ensuring state resources are directed to communities in real need.
By fostering local independence and responsibility, New York can ensure county programs serve residents effectively without becoming a financial or administrative quagmire.
Recently, there have been some articles in the Orleans Hub regarding the Heritage Wind Project, projected start dates and construction, ways that they have given to organizations and community groups with grants, how much money they will be paying for the Host Community Agreement/Payment in Lieu of Taxes.
I would like to take this opportunity to shed a different light on this project and the reality of how much the Town of Barre, Orleans County, the Albion School District and all residents of these groups are actually giving to Heritage Wind (you will see that we are all being extremely generous this holiday season).
Let’s look at taxes first, from 2016 Heritage Wind has been touting through ads, signs etc. that they are going to reduce our taxes, now that we have actual numbers let’s look at that.
If they were to pay the same rate in taxes for a $373 million dollar project as everyone else does on their properties here is how much they would be paying annually for taxes:
Town of Barre (8.98% rate 2024) = $3,349,540
Orleans County (8.4% rate 2024) = $3,133,200
Albion School District (13.05% rate 2024) = $4,867,650
Total: $11,350,390
However, because of the Host Community Agreement and Payment in Lieu of Taxes here is how much they will actually be paying towards these entities:
Town of Barre (HCA Only*, 0 for PILOT) = $850,500 (75% tax break)
Orleans County (PILOT) = $141,750 (95% tax break)
Albion School District (PILOT) = $141,750 (97% tax break)
Total: $1,134,000
Congratulations to Heritage Wind, they are receiving a property tax break of $10,216,390 annually! But the community organizations, and Town of Barre should be thrilled to receive the $250 to $4,000 grants that they have given out each year since 2020 to community groups that apply. Since 2020, they have given out $160,000 (about $32,000 annually) or 0.003% of the tax break that they will be receiving annually because of the HCA/PILOT agreement.
Our Economic Development Agency is “thrilled” for the opportunity to use the total of $4.5 million that they will be receiving, at the cost of losing $255.4 Million total in the 25 years of the HCA and PILOT versus Heritage Wind paying taxes like a majority of other businesses in Orleans County.
Critical to this is that the Town of Barre opted to take their portion as part of a Host Community Agreement instead of the Payment in Lieu of Taxes. What does that mean for the residents of Barre? Well, that means that the money that is received from Heritage Wind is not required to go to reduce taxes.
It can be used for anything that the current Town Board deems appropriate. They could use it to reduce taxes, increase wages of town employees, build a highway building, improvements to the Town Park or any other project. These projects could increase the annual budget and in the long run increase all of our taxes.
There is 0 guarantee that your taxes will be reduced at all by this project, so please remember that when you vote next November. Whereas, with the county and school district those are looked at as tax payments and if budgets were to stay the same theoretically could reduce your taxes.
Orleans County Economic Development Agency, and our local governments would not agree to such a thing, unless we were getting more and this is what the residents that are going to be most impacted by such a huge project wanted, right? Unfortunately, this assumption is wrong. There was never a Town vote; however, every survey that was done by the Town or individuals showed that this project and industrial wind was not desired in our community.
What about jobs, the construction and operation of such large structures must bring in tons of jobs and additional revenue into our community. Wrong again. As part of the application to the Office of Renewable Energy Siting (ORES), Heritage Wind was required to estimate how many jobs in Orleans County would be created, or additional position based on supply chain and this is what they shared in Table 27-11:
So Heritage Wind themselves may or may not hire up to 8 positions locally and appear to be seasonal. I have read the PILOT and HCA, and do not recall there being any requirement for any of these positions to be filled with local talent.
What about bringing in earnings to the county based on the needs for building/ construction, in table 27-13 Heritage Wind estimated that there would be an annual earnings of $0.3 million for construction brought into Orleans County and no other industry would be impacted.
Congratulations to Heritage Wind, for receiving a huge (over $10 million annually) local tax incentive to be in our community for a maximum of 8 positions and minimal additional revenue coming into our community, despite a majority of the residents in Barre not wanting such a project in our community.
Please keep this in mind when you read the press releases, and articles about this project.
I attended the county budget public hearing last week. Initially I was surprised by the lack of attendance but at the conclusion, indeed I felt my time foolishly spent.
I begin by making clear that I hold nothing but respect for the individuals comprising our county legislative body. They contribute many hours for a small stipend and are tasked with trying to minimize pain to taxpayers while abiding to the stipulation of state mandates. They literally have discretion of less than 10% of the annual budget. Hence my mood leaving the meeting.
These debilitating mandates have reached a point whereby counties must go without and continually raise tax rates and assessments to comply. At what point do the residents stand in unison and proclaim “Enough!”?
I implored the Legislative Body to seriously consider disavowing the mandates and accept the consequence of no state funds coming our way. I’m sure they were too polite to express what they likely thought of my query.
I submit, it is financially risky and fraught with litigation. That is the down side. These mandates are a carrot on a stick. We citizens are the donkey plodding along too simple to realize he will never gain on the reward.
NYS will not mobilize the National Guard. This is not civil disobedience. We are saying “no thank you” to their offer. I strongly believe the first Upstate county to express the required fortitude of this action will be quickly joined by neighboring counties facing the same plight. At some point critical mass is reached and the state is forced to negotiate. That is the up side.
I invite your ridicule or rebuttal. Please don’t however, tell me your plan to do nothing and hope our representation in Albany will miraculously swing in our favor eventually.
This dilemma will get worse. There is a valid scenario where NYC will not follow pending federal immigration mandates and will in turn be financially punished (such irony). Where do you suppose they (downstate) will look to fill their deficit?
